and finishes with the victory of Gerard De Rooy from Team PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO
Gerard De Rooy wins the first place in the truck category of the Africa Eco Race 2018, having dominated the race from the start.
In the Dakar 2018 Federico Villagra achieves his sixth podium in eight stages with a second place in stage 8 and IVECO places again three Powerstars in the top 10 of stage 8
The
Africa Eco Race 2018 edition is over: after 12 stages and 6,500 km across 3 countries – 5 in Morocco, 6 in Mauritania and 1 in Senegal – fierce competition in breathtaking landscapes over fast rocky tracks and challenging dunes, the drivers and their crews have reached the shores of Lake Rose in Senegal to celebrate the winners and the big achievements of the rally.
Gerard De Rooy, leader of team PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO, won the rally in the truck category, having maintained the lead over the trucks throughout the rally – on the fast rocky tracks as well as the extremely soft sands of the dunes.
IVECO, official supplier of Team PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO for the eights consecutive year, provided the Africa Eco Race’s winning crew with the vehicles, engines and spare parts. The legendary reliability of IVECO trucks comes from this extreme experience, where every part of our trucks is put at the hardest test that could exist. Equipped with IVECO Cursor 13 engines – specially engineered by FPT Industrial, CNH Industrial’s powertrain brand – the vehicles deliver up to 1000 hp of power.
The final stage saw the drivers compete in a short, final boost in the traditional last leg around Lake Rose, near Dakar. The crowds were out in force to encourage the competitors and celebrate the winners as they took their place on the podium on the beach of the lake.
Dutchman
De Rooy is very pleased with the rally:
"I enjoyed both the beautiful specials and the toughness. That was what it was all about in the first place: having fun again. They were long specials, but still short days because we had almost no connection. I really look back on it with a very good feeling."
In South America, the three IVECO Powerstars are fulfilling their potential, delivering consistently high performances and achieving placements in the Top 10 in the two stages after the rest day. In stage 7,
Ton Van Genugten took the lead and never let go, winning the special two minutes ahead of teammate
Federico Villagra, with Artur Ardavichus following 18 minutes later in seventh place.
Stage 8 took the competitors on the 381 timed kilometers that ended the marathon stage between the Bolivian cities of Uyuni and Tupiza. The tracks were no big hazard for the IVECO crews in the world’s toughest Rally Raid: in spite of the heavy rain and flooded roads, the three IVECO Powerstars piloted by Federico Villagra, Ton Van Genugten and Artur Ardavichus reached the finish line of the special – and all three in the Top 10.
Federico Villagra continued to deliver podium placements, crossing the finish line of stages 7 and 8 in second place. The Argentinian, who is aiming for victory through a consistent performance, is steadily closing in on leader Eduard Nikolayev.
Ton Van Genugten followed his win in the stage 7 with a sixth place in the Uyuni-Tupiza special of stage 8, finishing 15 minutes behind the leader.
Artur Ardavichus also delivered a consistent performance, completing stage 7 in seventh place and stage 8 in ninth, maintaining his position in the Top 10 of the overall classification.
Due to bad weather in the south of Bolivia and north of Argentina, the organization decided to cancel Stage 9 (Tupiza – Salta).
Overall Standings – Trucks Category – Africa Eco Race 2018
1. GERARD DE ROOY (IVECO) 45h53s
2. Tomas Tomecek (Tatra) + 5h12m32s
3. Johannes Van De Laar (DAF) + 6h49m12s
Stage 8 – Rally Dakar 2018
1. Dmitry Sotnikov (Kamaz) 4h23m32s
2. FEDERICO VILLAGRA (IVECO) + 5m11s
3. Airat Mardeev (Kamaz) + 6m28s
4. Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz) + 8m33s
5. Martin Kolomy (Tatra) + 12m11s
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6. TON VAN GENUGTEN (IVECO) + 15m36s
9. ARTUR ARDAVICHUS (IVECO) + 41m36s
Overall Standings – Rally Dakar 2018
1. Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz) 28h15m06s
2. FEDERICO VILLAGRA (IVECO) + 46m25s
3. Martin Macik (Liaz) + 3h29m25s
4. Siarhei Viazovich (Maz) + 3h59m35s
5. Airat Mardeev (Kamaz) + 4h23m20s
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6. TON VAN GENUGTEN (IVECO) + 4h31m08s
8. ARTUR ARDAVICHUS (IVECO) + 5h28m16s
